“Ron describes how his son David Miscavige, who had been a happy and funny child, became the ruthless and tyrannical leader of the Church of Scientology, surrounded by sycophants and living lavishly while others in the church toil in relative poverty.”

“Ron describes how his son David Miscavige, who had been a happy and funny child, became the ruthless and tyrannical leader of the Church of Scientology, surrounded by sycophants and living lavishly while others in the church toil in relative poverty.”

the original title referred to an incident in 2013 involving two private investigators who had been hired to stalk Ron in his Wisconsin town. Ron had escaped from Scientology’s International Base in 2012, and the private investigators admitted in police interviews that they had been hired by David Miscavige to follow his father. At one point while they were surveilling him, Ron fumbled with a smartphone in his shirt pocket and clutched at his chest. From their vantage point, the two private eyes got the impression that Ron was having a heart attack. They told police that when they called their handler for instructions, David Miscavige came on the line and told them to do nothing. “If he dies, he dies,” Miscavige reportedly said.

It took three years for Lawrence Wright’s book Going Clear to find a publisher in England when little Silvertail Books brought out Wright’s epic history of the Church of Scientology last month. When Ron Miscavige brings out his book on May 3, he won’t have to wait for the same treatment.

We are instructed, on the basis of information put to our client, that the book contains malicious, false, misleading and highly defamatory allegations relating to our client, including inter alia:

i. That our client was never officially appointed to be L. Ron Hubbard’s successor but rather seized power by outmanoeuvring his rivals;
ii. That Gold Base is surrounded by spiked fencing pointing inwards;
iii. That working and living conditions at Gold Base were appalling and staff were not permitted to leave;
iv. That our client created “The Hole” as a means of punishing Sea Org members and that people were subjected to deprivation and violence whilst detained in “The Hole”;
v. That our client lives in lavish conditions whilst Church staff live in poor conditions;
vi. That our client’s management style is erratic and abusive;
vii. That our client hired Privated Detectives to carry out surveillance on Ron Miscavige.